CDFIs

TNRDF is a United States Treasury Department Certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI)

What is a CDFI?

Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) are financial institutions that provide services to low-income communities and people who lack access to financing.

CDFIs include banks, credit unions, loan funds, and venture capital funds.

They focus on personal lending and business development in poorer communities.

CDFIs are certified by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s CDFI Fund.

Frequently Asked Questions

CDFIs specialize in lending to individuals, organizations, and businesses in under-resourced communities. They offer clients financial education, business coaching, and low-interest rate loans. CDFIs seek to lend to small businesses and nonprofits that may not be able to access traditional bank financing.

To qualify for CDFI certification, an organization must meet the following criteria:

Have a primary mission of promoting community development
Provide both financial and educational services
Serve and maintain accountability to one or more defined target markets
Be a legal entity at the time of certification application
Serve individuals whose family income is 80% or less of the area median family income

CDFIs offer financial education, business coaching, and low-interest rate loans to help build wealth. They can also finance a wide range of activities, including:

Mortgage lending for first-time homebuyers
Flexible underwriting for community facilities
Commercial loans for businesses in low-income areas